MARIETTA – More than 24 years ago the remains of 18-year-old Belpre High grad Terri Roach were discovered on a power line right of way near the intersection of Ohio 676 and Cole Coffman Road.

Authorities determined the teen had been bludgeoned to death.

The 1990 homicide is among the local cold cases that have recently come back to light after the recent arrest of former Washington County deputy Mitchell Ruble, charged with the 1981 murder of deputy Lt. Ray “Joe” Clark.

Lt. Jeff Seevers with the Washington County Sheriff’s Cold Case Squad said he was on road patrol the day Roach’s body was discovered.

“A person living nearby was walking along the power line right of way looking for berries and found the body. It had probably been there for several days,” he said. “It was hard to determine whether the crime took place at that location or if the body had been dumped there after she was killed.”

Seevers said he believes the murder may have occurred somewhere other than where the body was finally recovered.

Roach was last seen alive June 28 at the home of her father, Rex Roach, at 1507 1/2 Putnam Howe Drive in Belpre.

Callers may remain anonymous.

Her disappearance was reported to Belpre Police on July 2, according to the July 12 edition of The Marietta Times that year.

“She had a job at Elby’s (restaurant) in Belpre, but she quit,” Washington County Sheriff Dick Ellis told reporters at the time.

“Allegedly she left home on her 18th birthday (May 4)-moved out. We don’t know her whereabouts during this period,” Ellis added, noting that family members also had no knowledge of where the teen was staying, who her friends were or why she left home.

According to her obituary, Terri Lee Roach was born May 4, 1972, in Parkersburg and had just graduated from Belpre High School in the spring of 1990.

Her parents were Rex and Kathryn Stone Roach of Belpre, and she had two brothers, Sean and Thomas Roach, also from Belpre, according to Terri’s obituary.

Bob Schlicher was the lone detective with the sheriff’s department at that time and was in charge of the Roach murder investigation.

“One of the challenges we had the day after the Roach homicide was discovered was that the department’s resources included maybe eight road deputies, but I was the only detective,” he said. “And back then BCI would only send one crime scene investigator to help out.”

Schlicher said evidence was gathered and leads were followed.

“There was one witness who indicated Terri was seen talking to an individual reportedly named ‘Mark’ at a gas station and he was driving a brown Trans Am,” he said.

At the time Schlicher sought the public’s help in locating “Mark,” who was described as a white male in his early 20s with dark hair, who may have had contact with Roach on July 4.

“We checked out several ‘Marks’ and brown Trans Ams, but nothing panned out,” Schlicher said.

He said identifying the exact time of the Roach murder was also an issue.

“The last time we could physically account for her was July 2 when she was seen at the entrance of a AAA office,” Schlicher said. “And she didn’t pick up her last paycheck from Elby’s. So we had about a week’s time frame in which the homicide could have occurred.”

The body had begun to decompose when it was found, so an expert was brought in who determined the murder probably took place sometime close to July 2.

“We also found out that Terri had been seen at a bar on Ohio 550 where we knew an individual facing sexual assault charges was also a frequent customer,” Schlicher added.

That man, whom Schlicher declined to identify, became a major suspect in the case. He was later convicted of sexual assault in another jurisdiction and is now serving a life sentence in a southeast Ohio prison.

“But he has denied any involvement with the Roach murder,” Schlicher said.

Seevers said that inmate continues to be a prime suspect, but the Cold Case Squad needs more information before seeking an indictment on that individual.

“We’ve talked with him, and he knows he’s suspected in the Roach homicide,” he said. “We did gather some information back in the day, so we’re still very hopeful of solving the case.”

Attempts to reach members of the Roach family this week were unsuccessful, but Schlicher said he’s tried to stay in contact with them over the years.

“It’s very hard losing a child, and they were always cooperative with the investigation,” he said. “These families deserve to have an answer.”

Schlicher, who became sheriff of Washington County a few years after the Roach murder, said that’s the reason he appointed more detectives who could investigate homicides when he took office. Schlicher said he also began appointing deputies to follow up investigations of older cases and was glad to see that process has been continued.

In 2011 current Sheriff Larry Mincks beefed up the unsolved homicide investigations by appointing a Cold Case Squad, headed by Seevers, who came out of retirement to lead the effort.

In addition to the Clark case that culminated in Ruble’s arrest last month, the squad has been following three other cold cases, including the Roach murder. The other two are the homicides of Kimberly Fulton and her 17-month-old son, whose bodies were found in a burned-out mobile home in Palmer Township in 1995, and Patsy Sparks, whose remains were found in a remote area of Noble County in 1994.

Seevers said the Cold Case Squad is wrapping up its involvement with the Clark case and expects to begin focusing on one of the three remaining unsolved cases soon.